As gun violence and the policies to curb it take center stage in Washington, D.C., a new report by a New Orleans doctor shows that gun violence right in the Crescent City costs the cash-strapped University Hospital tens of million of dollars.

And it also has a trickle-down effect on how medical students and residents are trained.

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The report was written by Dr. Russell Russo. On most days, the orthopedic surgeon is busy at his Lakeview office. He specializes in sports medicine and has worked with the Houston Astros and minor league New Orleans Zephyrs.

But the LSU medical school grad, who trained at the old University Hospital, recently published a report that's making waves in the medical community.

"It looks at how much it costs us as New Orleanians and as Louisiana residents to fund all gunshot violence," said Russo.

Russo spent six years researching the project, from 2007-13. While he was a resident at LSU, what he uncovered is now being printed in medical journals.

In that time, the now-shuttered LSU Interim Hospital saw 3,500 gunshot wound patients, many of whom were unable to pay for the care they received.

"We looked at CMS data, the operating cost to charge ratio, and found that it cost about $73 million to treat, not what was billed, but to treat, and we only took in $31 million, and these are the facts LSU gave me," Russo said.

That's a difference of more than $40 million.

"A big part of it is, sadly, most of the time gunshot victims are uninsured," Russo said. "Some do get Medicaid after the fact, but only about 6 percent had some form of insurance when they came to the hospital."

Russo's study also shows that 13 percent of all gunshot wound victims brought in were legally intoxicated, and "about 30 percent had illegal substances in their system such as marijuana and cocaine, and others had things like 'bath salts' in their blood," Russo said.

Russo said he published the report to show that not only is there a human toll to gun violence but a financial one on cash-strapped medical centers around the country, and he's hoping elected leaders are paying attention.

"When it comes down to it, we just need to make some changes," said Russo.

Russo's report also shows that 59 percent of gunshot wound victims required orthopedic care, meaning residents have less time to focus on patients who need that type of care to treat the more urgent gunshot wound victims.

Last year in New Orleans, police said the homicide count stood at 165.

Emergency Room physician Dr. Peter DeBlieux, a representative from LSU Health Sciences Center, responded to Dr. Russo’s report, stating: “Trauma across the country loses money at exponential numbers. Whether it be gunshot wounds or motor vehicle collisions, because it usually deals with young males who are in most cases uninsured.

"There’s not a hospital out there in an urban setting that makes money off of trauma. Although this study represents an enormous human toll of suffering, our hospital attracts talented young professionals from across the country to train in our safety net hospital.

"LSU and UMC remain dedicated to serving the patient care needs in this community to include preventive measures for gunshot wound victims and victims of interpersonal violence.”